UNITED NATIONS (AP)  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said his government was completely committed to a U.S.-proposed Mideast peace conference and vowed that the "olive branch of peace" would not fall from his hands.

His impassioned speech to the U.N. General Assembly Friday recalled the famous address to the same forum in 1974 by his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, who appeared wearing a holster and carrying a sprig. Arafat told the assembled leaders that he carried both the olive branch and "the freedom fighter's gun," and implored the world not to let that branch fall.

Abbas, who wore a business suit, pledged that the "olive branch of peace that never withers or dies, will not fall from my hands."

"Today, there is not the slightest obstacle to promoting the holding of (the upcoming) peace meeting, in particular because our brother Arab countries have demonstrated through the Arab Peace Initiative their true readiness to bring about a just, lasting and comprehensive peace," Abbas said, referring to the Arab proposal that offers peace in exchange for land.

"This is why we are very committed to the substance of that meeting as proposed... We would hope all parties would sit down to negotiation."

He reiterated his government's position that the key to solving the decades-old conflict between Israel and the Palestinians lay in directly addressing the divisive "final status" issues including Palestinian statehood, the status of Jerusalem and right of return for refugees.

The November meeting proposed by the Bush administration is aimed at bringing together all parties involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, including key regional players like Syria and Saudi Arabia, as well as Jordan and Egypt which have already signed peace agreements with Israel.

But the Arab nations have so far been reluctant to commit, fearing that a failure to address the final status issues will result in a gathering high on show, but low on substance. An agenda has yet to be set and the invitations have not been sent.

Syrian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Bushra Kanafani said the government wanted answers to a number of questions, including details on the agenda of the meeting, and specifically whether the Syria-Israel dispute over the Golan Heights would be discussed.

The militant movement Hamas has opposed the meeting from the outset and concerns remain that their continued rejection, along with their refusal to recognize Israel or to rule out violence against the Jewish state, could scuttle any gains.

Abbas said he would take whatever comes out of the conference to the Palestinian people in a referendum so that they could make their own decision.

"I came to express to you the pain and suffering of every Palestinian man and woman; those who were martyred or injured; all those who await the freedom of a brother or father or sister or mother suffering in prison .... and the millions of Palestinians living as refugees on their own land," he said.

Posing a series of rhetorical questions about the final status issues, he also said: "I hope I will not have to come back to this rostrum next year to ask these same questions."

Arab officials offered another measure of guarded support Friday in the General Assembly, with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit saying the proposed meeting, if well prepared, could provide "an important opportunity to achieve long-awaited progress."

His Jordanian counterpart, Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib, said it "may be the last chance to achieve progress" and, as a result, the U.S. and others must ensure it tackles the final status issues.

Earlier, Arab League Secretary-general Amr Moussa told reporters his discussions over the past few days with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and others were "reassuring" and that there was a strong desire to have all parties participate in the meeting.

"We, on the Arab side, have shown through our initiative that we are ready for peace with Israel," he said. "We are ready to turn the page."

But Moussa also stressed that the Arabs are not prepared to negotiate continuously if the commitment to the process is not mutual. At the very least, he said, Israel should halt the expansion of settlements.

"It is inconceivable for us to sit and talk about the new state of Palestine ... while the map that would be before us, at that moment, would change if we meet in the afternoon because of building settlements," Moussa told reporters on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. "This has to stop."

"If they (the Israelis) are not ready, then we will not run after them. But they should not blame anyone if there is a sense of hopelessness" and actions that stem from that despair, he said.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

To report corrections and clarifications, contact Reader Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas told the U.N. General Assembly he would take whatever comes out of a Mideast peace conference to the Palestinian people for a referendum.

Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article.
Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.